Alabama firefighter kicked out over anti-Muslim Facebook comment
A Facebook comment about a weekend Ku Klux Klan recruitment effort in Arab, Alabama gets one firefighter kicked out of his department.
According to news reports, flyers were distributed in the community over the weekend encouraging people to join the KKK and help fight the spread of Islam. Josh Tidwell, now a former firefighter with the Four C Volunteer Fire Department in Marshall County, was one of the people commenting on Facebook about the KKK’s efforts.
Posts allegedly made by Tidwell were in reference to the flyer distribution and used racist language.
Chief Raymond Bodine says Tidwell was a good firefighter but an example had to be made.
“I hope that our people and other fire departments learn something from this as far as social media,” said Bodine.
WSFA.com Montgomery Alabama news.
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Chief Raymond Bodine says he saw the comment on Monday before a department board meeting, and he decided to have the board vote on Tidwell’s membership termination.
Bodine says Tidwell is a talented firefighter and he was surprised by the Facebook comment.
“I trust him with my life in a fire,” Bodine said. “He’s a good firefighter. You know, he was my safety officer for about a year and no problems.”
However, Bodine says after seeing the post he felt it was necessary to have the board vote on Tidwell’s termination.
